Eli Shan had only one dream: to become the strongest person alive.

Even though it was just a dream, Eli Shan was determined to do his best to achieve it. But now that he couldn't even cultivate, he felt completely broken.

Overwhelmed by sadness, he closed himself in a room and didn't come out for days.

Soon, word about Eli Shan's situation spread throughout the clan. Some were sad to hear about his condition, while others, like Jin Shan, the son of a great elder, were happy to see him in such a state.

In the clan's courtyard, Jin Shan chatted with his friends and boasted, "See? I told you Eli Shan is nothing more than a bit talented in swordsmanship. It can only be me who becomes the next sect master of the clan."

His friends, who were sons of other elders, joined in the laughter. "Brother Jin, you're the eldest and the strongest among us. You're undoubtedly the best fit for the position of sect master," the son of the second elder chuckled.

Another guy added, "Eli Shan once easily defeated me because of his superior body strength. But now that I can cultivate my realm and he can't, even the sect master won't care about him. It'll be the perfect time for my revenge."

As they were enjoying themselves at Eli Shan's misfortune, Yui Shan stood before his closed room, her heart filled with concern. Turning to Huang Shan, she couldn't help but express her worries, "Husband, will little Eli be alright? It's been six days, and he hasn't come out of his room or eaten anything at all."

Huang Shan sighed, "Let's give him a little space. He needs to figure out his future on his own. Even though he is young, his determination is not weak."

As Huang Shan completed his words, the room where eli shan closed himself up, suddenly opened up and eli shan came out of it.

He put his hand over his eyes, adjusting to the light after spending so long in darkness. Then, with a determined look on his face, he slapped both of his cheeks with his little hands and said with a confident voice, "Yuushhh, I will not be deterred by my body's limitations. I will still become the strongest person who doesn't need any qi to destroy anything with a punch."

Hearing him, Huang Shan smiled proudly and said to Luise, "Look, didn't I say that our son is not like any other kid? He will grow up to be a real man one day for sure"

Yui Shan nodded with a warm smile and extended her arms toward Eli Shan, inviting him into a loving embrace.

Eli Shan, who was just 7 years old, smiled brightly as he looked at his parents and eagerly ran into his mother's embrace.

Feeling the warmth of his mother's hug, Eli Shan couldn't help but smile and in his heart, he made a firm decision, "From now on, I will become strong enough to at least protect those who are dear to me."

From behind, Huang Shan also came and gently patted Eli Shan's head with a smile. "Little Eli," he said, "we are thinking of sending you to a martial arts school. You'll stay there until you reach the age of eighteen and learn a wide variety of martial arts."

Eli Shan stepped out of his mother's embrace and looked at his father with hesitation. "Father, can't I cultivate with you?"

Huang Shan smiled and said, "You can, but in the school, there should be some techniques that will be perfect for your body. It's better to cultivate there and come back after you find a way for yourself."

Eli Shan thought for a while before nodding.

Even though Eli Shan was young, he understood the harsh reality of living in a world dominated by the strong. He realized that if he didn't become stronger himself, someone strong would eventually devour him. His ultimate goal was to protect his parents from any potential threat, and he knew he had only one path to achieve that – to become the strongest!

Huang Shan looked at Eli Shan's tiny yet serious face and continued with a warm smile, "The headmaster of that school is renowned as the strongest in the nearby city, and no one dares to provoke the school due to his connections with the city lord. However, there's an important rule you must know. Once you enter the school, you must stay there from the age of eight until the age of eighteen. Leaving or running away is not an option."

Eli Shan nodded with excitement in his eyes. Even though he was sad about staying away from his parents, the thought of becoming even stronger filled him with enthusiasm and anticipation. Just thinking about it, he couldn't hide his excitement.

Huang Shan looked at Eli Shan with affectionate eyes and said, "Next year, you'll have to prepare for the entrance exam of the school. Only two hundred students will be selected from hundreds of thousands of applicants, but I believe you can easily pass the exam. So, get ready for that."

Eli Shan nodded and was ready to give his best. After chatting with his parents for a while, he entered the secluded area dedicated to the children's cultivation. It was a big cave-like place filled with other children from the clan, all focused on their cultivation. Eli Shan looked around and found a spot at the deepest, far from other children, to begin his cultivation journey.

One year later...

Eli Shan didn't come out of his seclusion for a whole year.

During his intense cultivation, Eli Shan discovered that even though he couldn't make a breakthrough in his spiritual realm, but he could make significant progress in terms of his body realm.

In the world of cultivation, breaking through to the spiritual realm would increase the power of the body too, however, there were limitations. As long as the spiritual qi was inside his body, his body would be strong. But if one were to exhaust all their qi, their body would lose its power as well. Cultivating the body was already a challenging task for most, but for Eli Shan, it seemed surprisingly easy.

As Eli Shan learned about this unique ability of his, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed and cultivated even more harder.

As Eli Shan cultivated and absorbed the surge of qi, it flowed through every part of his body, and he felt as if every single cell of his body was absorbing the qi to strengthen itself to the limit. The process had been incredibly painful, and he had endured it with gritted teeth for the whole year. But now, the pain seemed worthwhile as he sensed a newfound strength coursing through his entire being.

Feeling this surge of power, he stood up and clenched his fist. Suddenly, every kid who was cultivating nearby felt an intense pressure, as if someone was suffocating them. A look of horror appeared on their faces as they struggled under the force of the invisible pressure emanating from Eli Shan's presence.

This strength was not from spiritual qi, but the power of his body itself!

Usually, body cultivation made a person slightly stronger than a strong mortal. If one wants to achieve remarkable results by body cultivation, it required a lot of dedication and time. However, for Eli Shan, it was a different story. His body seemed to instinctively absorb the spiritual qi, effortlessly strengthening every cell. It was as if his entire body hungered for the spiritual energy, leading to astounding progress in his body cultivation.

After nearly a year of intense cultivation, Eli Shan's body had already broken through to the peak stage of the Soul and Body Foundation Realm.

In this world, the cultivation realms were: Qi Gathering, Soul and Body Foundation, True Qi, Zun, and Origin Realm. Each realm was further divided into nine minor realms, and the power difference between each minor realm was significant.

Eli Shan's father, Huang Shan, was currently in the ninth stage of the True Qi Realm.

During this period of cultivation in the cave, nothing major happened too, except for some children of the clan who tried to pick a fight with him but ended up getting beaten like a dog and never disturbed him again.

They were at most at the Qi Gathering realm, while Eli Shan's body had already reached the Soul and Body Formation realm.

For someone who cultivated only the body realm, it was almost unimaginable to beat someone of the same realm who cultivated the spiritual qi realm, even if the opponent was at the 8th stage of the Soul and Body realm, which was one minor realm below Eli Shan's current realm, It was quite hard for Eli Shan to defeat such a person. However, for children of the Qi Gathering realm, Eli Shan's strength was more than enough to overpower them.

At this moment, after realizing that a whole year had passed, Eli Shan stood up from his place and went to meet his father.

Huang Shan was in his chamber, sitting with crossed legs, his eyes closed as he focused on cultivating. Suddenly, he felt something and opened his eyes. His gaze fell upon the entrance of his chamber, and a warm smile lit up his face when he saw his son, Eli Shan, standing there. He called him inside, motioning for him to come closer.

Upon hearing that Eli Shan had completed his seclusion and come out, Yui Shan rushed towards Huang Shan's cultivation chamber to meet her son.

Eli Shan who had already gone inside his father's chamber and was talking with him, suddenly looked at the entrance and saw a beautiful woman looking at him with warmth in her eyes – his mother. "Mother," Eli Shan smiled.

Upon hearing Eli Shan's voice after so many days, tears begin to flow from her eyes as she rushed inside and hugged him tightly.

"My little Eli, I have been waiting every day with the hope that you might come out to meet your mother, but you never came out, today finally, you remembered that you have your parents too?" Yui Shan said, her voice filled with sadness.

Hearing his mother, Eli Shan also felt sad and hugged her back "I missed you, mother, father. But if I want to become strong enough in the future to protect my lovely parents, I had to sacrifice my present, even if it fills me with sadness."

Hearing Eli Shan's words, Yui Shan shook her head with a smile. "It looks like my son has grown so much in the past year," she teased, making Eli Shan blush with embarrassment.

Huang Shan also smiled looking at his little son whose face became red with embarrassment in his mother's arms "Okay, kid, now leave your mother and go back to get ready. You will be departing tomorrow."

Eli Shan smiled mischievously and replied, "Dad, you're getting jealous, right?" He hugged his mother more tightly, playfully teasing his father and showing all of his teeth with a laugh.

Huang Shan pretended to be angry and exclaimed, "You little rascal! Move away from my wife!"

Hearing his words, Yui Shan held Eli Shan even closer and glared at Huang Shan "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Hearing her, Huang Shan couldn't contain his laughter any longer and burst into laughter, "Just kidding, just kidding."

Looking at Huang Shan's heartful laughter, Yui Shan and Eli Shan also burst into laughter, and their room filled with parental love and laughter.

After chatting with his parents the whole day, Eli Shan returned to his room to prepare for his departure the next day.